Flooding causes traffic jams & breakdowns across Leinster

22 Nov 2017
Posted by Barry Aldworth

AA Rescue reports a huge increase in call-outs this morning with many cars damaged by driving through flood water. Today’s heavy rain has caused major traffic jams across Dublin and Leinster and has also caught a lot of drivers out.

By early Wednesday morning the breakdown assistance provider had already received reports over 20 flood-related breakdowns, as heavy rain caused havoc for traffic across the country.

“By 10am on Wednesday we had already been called to attend to 25 flood damaged vehicles. It’s important that motorists in flood-affected areas avoid driving through larger pools of water where possible as it’s easy to be deceived about how deep the water is. It’s simply not worth the risk as you can very quickly find yourself stuck on the roadside,” Faughnan added. “Meanwhile, in the coming days a drop in temperatures is likely to wreak havoc on car batteries, particularly if they’re older or weaker, so it’s important that motorists give their car a quick check today before conditions take a turn for the worst from tomorrow.”

Motorists are also being warned to drive with additional care in the coming days, as an expected drop in temperatures will present the risk of ice and frost across the country.

AA Ireland is advising motorists to slow down and allow extra journey time if their area is affected by ice and frost. Motorists are also being urged to be on the lookout for vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians, and to ensure their windows and mirrors are adequately cleared before beginning any journey in order to improve visibility.

“The mild year we’ve experienced weather-wise to date appears to be coming to an end in the coming days and it’s important, should we get icy conditions, that motorists adapt their behaviour accordingly,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs. “To make matters worse, we also had significant rainfall across most of the country on Wednesday meaning that the risk of icy patches is greater as roads are still going to be wet.”

“For all motorists the advice is to exercise additional caution when driving, allow extra time on any journeys you have to make and, if a significant amount of freezing occurs on the roads, to avoid unnecessary journeys. These conditions always increase the risk of breakdowns or accidents so it’s important to expect delays and to be on the lookout for vulnerable road users so as to avoid any increase in incidents on our roads.